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Investors could inject Rs208bn into projects

ISLAMABAD: Political instability as well as security concerns after a surge of Taliban activities will not hamper investors who may inject Rs208 billion into development projects being currently offered by the government to the private sector.

The reason for that will be international guarantees involved in the mode of public-private partnership, Infrastructure Project Development Facility (IPDF)Adviser Murtaza Satti said on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference, here at his office along with IPDF Chief Executive Officer Adil Anwar, Satti revealed that around 40 per cent budgetary allocations for development projects were going down due to rampant corruption of bureaucrats affiliated with the ministries and departments who also opposed the government’s move to transfer multi-billion-dollar projects to public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

“Where there will be high risk, there will be high returns for investors,” he said while referring to deteriorated law and order situation and added that despite a difficult situation investors were poised to inject their money into projects but bureaucratic hurdles were blocking the way for moving towards desired objectives.

Citing examples of the National Highway Authority (NHA) and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), he said they developed new ideas for the NHA but bureaucratic hurdles were coming in their way. The IPDF, he said, worked out details for automation project in the FBR worth Rs7 billion but after selection of highest bidder the contract has not yet been awarded.

He also came down on the Planning Commission (PC), saying that there were some remains of Shaukat Aziz regime that are creating hurdles in the way of vision outlined by the PPP under leadership of President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. The government has also included Chashma Nuclear Power Project (C-4) into the category of PPP mode, he said.

The IPDF CEO explained that the Chashma-3 project was at advance stage so the government did not involve the IPDF in it. It was also told during the briefing that the government has transferred 11 development projects with cost of Rs208 billion on the mode of PPP in areas of municipal services, mass urban public transport, transport & logistics and office/industry sectors. The IPDF, he said, is also assisting the government in the structuring & financing of multi-purpose water reservoirs at the cost of $25 billion. IPDF has identified 16 projects from the PSDP 2008-09 for development under the PPP concept.

These projects amount to 30 per cent of the PSDP totaling approximately Rs117 billion. The projects for the IPDF include Chansha Nuclear Power Project He said there was no other option available before the government but to develop water and power sector requirements. Owing to water scarcity, Pakistan is cultivating 22 million hectare against total potential of 59 million hectare. He said when the PPP regime by Benazir Bhutto opted to go for IPPs during her second tenure and people raised voice against it but the time proved that the PPP leadership took visionary steps otherwise half of the country could have been living in dark ages.

Satti said Pakistan’s infrastructure lagged behind compared to other regional states and in the wake of existing financial crisis around the globe there was need to exploit mode of PPP by involving private sector to bridge the financing gap. NHA and National Trade Corridor (NTC) projects have also been identified for development under PPP mode at the cost of Rs46 billion.